Nothing of Significance
by stephfarrow94
Summary: Fran never did lose his memories of the future; he just viewed them as dreams he didn't understand. Even after being taken in by Mukuro and eventually meeting the other people from his 'dreams', he has yet to understand the significance of what he doesn't understand. Bel X Fran B26
1. Chapter 1

**So the idea for this fic actually came about as Kaisicca and I were having a discussion about Fran and she told me her views on if he really lost his memories or just said he had. So the idea for that never actually came from me; you can give her the credit for this fic coming about because I just went along with the block of cheese story without question. **

Fran never had lost his memories of the future, despite what he would say about the block of cheese he claimed had erased his memories; the truth was, he remembered everything – but being as young as he is, he believed the memories to have been nothing more than dreams he couldn't understand.

He didn't know the significance the people in his 'dreams' had held in his life, nor what that 'six-six-six' ring was. He couldn't understand the fights, the things he had seen in those events – not the animals that lived in boxes and certainly not what strange things people could do in those fights. He had never known someone to be able to fly, have wings grow out of their back. He hadn't heard of people able to control thunder, nor able to summon bodies of water where there was none for miles.

He had never imagined he would be able to help kill someone before. Though he hadn't dreamt of doing so himself, he knew he had been there and watched as people died needless, painful deaths – just as bad as killing someone yourself, he knew.

He didn't know what an assassination squad was, but he did know the people in his dreams who had belonged to that group were a bunch of tooth decay fairies.

But what he didn't understand the most was when he had dreamt of the blond man from his dreams. He didn't understand what it meant when the blond took his clothes off. He didn't know why the man had touched him in places that were bad, or why his dream-counterpart had reciprocated the touches.

He most definitely didn't understand why the blond had put 'it' inside of his body, remembering how much it had hurt – even if it had just been a 'dream'.

But, as Fran had decided while he played by the river as he usually did, they were just insignificant dreams full of things he didn't understand.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Sorry about not having updated anything within the past week; my cat was bitten by a snake and I had been too distraught to write. We brought her home from the vet yesterday, but she can still go downhill in the coming weeks, so if I abruptly stop updating again, that's probably what has happened and apologies in advance.**

**Also, I don't think I mentioned this before, but I've set this ****fic****for shortly after the Inheritance arc. The ****Checkerface****arc may or may not come into play; you guys can have your say on whether or not you'd enjoy seeing it. The chapters will also get longer once the ****fic****gets going; I just don't like jumping from day to day in one chapter.**

Fran hadn't thought about those weird dreams for months now - so when Mukuro Rokudo brought him all the way to Japan, it was no surprise he didn't link the dreams with why it felt as if he knew the teenager from somewhere.

"Why do you live in an abandoned school?" Fran questioned, his lidded teal eyes hinting at boredom.

"Kufufu~" Mukuro smiled as he shrugged playfully. "Who knows? Your room is over on the right."

Fran moved through the hallway they were standing in. He placed a tiny hand against the moth-eaten hardwood door, almost too afraid to touch it; it looked so old and rickety, he was almost sure the slightest pressure would bring it crashing to the ground.

"Go in, little one," Mukuro reassured, smirking at the younger's hesitance.

"Master, your tastes in housing are terrible." The boy pushed open the door, frowning as he noticed the single futon laying in the corner of the dust-filled room. There was nothing but loose floorboards and plaster from the cracking walls and roof, and the few rays of sun that shone through the filth-caked, broken window barely illuminated anything.

"Don't complain." Mukuro tapped the bottom of his trident on the ground. "It's your home now. Be grateful you have a roof over your head and somewhere warm to sleep."

Fran didn't reply to this; he honestly wasn't sure _how. _Part of him felt as if he had been here before, but he wasn't sure when - how was it even possible when he had never left his hometown, so much as _France?_

"Master, you _will _feed me, right?" Fran asked, lifting up the blanket to inspect it for creepy crawlies; he wouldn't be surprised if there was a spider or two hiding away under there.

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

"Because if you're living here, I can safely assume you don't have money to feed me."

Fran threw the tattered blanket back to the ground, turning back to face the teenager. "My grandmother was like that. Sometimes she didn't have money to feed us."

"Ah, but we're different, you see."

Mukuro's heterochromatic eyes were full of amusement. "Of course we have money - it's just a matter of us spending it."

Fran dropped the dust-covered blanket back to the futon, turning to look at the older male. He had a feeling he had seen those heterochromatic eyes somewhere before - but how often do you see a set of eyes with two different colours with kanji in one? It was then, and only then, he brought the dreams back in mind.

The boy remembered a long-haired man - who looked like an older Mukuro - with eyes just like this. But that was ridiculous! They were just dreams! It's not like they actually happened.

...Right...?

With a sigh, Fran sat down on his futon, his head hanging. He heard Mukuro turn to leave, but nothing was said between them.

_I must miss my grandmother a lot... _The boy frowned. _Here I am, thinking that I may even have been dreaming of the future... _

Fran picked the blanket back up, dropping it onto his lap as he laid down on the futon. He curled up into a ball, not used to being away from his grandmother - to be honest, it was quite lonely; he even missed her horrible cooking.

~~Kokuyo Land~~

"What are you going to do with that little brat?" Ken asked, holding his bag of potato chips tightly.

"Isn't it obvious?" Mukuro's signature laugh made itself known. "Kufufu~ I'm going to train him. Such potential can't go to waste."

"A message was left for you earlier today," Chikusa said quietly, pushing his glasses back up with his forefinger. "From the Vongola Decimo. A meeting between Vongola and Varia has been called, and all guardians need to be present."

As much as Mukuro hated the Mafia, he knew that, if he played his role as the Mist Guardian, his goal of having Sawada Tsunayoshi's body for himself would soon be possible.

"Kufufu~" Mukuro's usually-present smirk widened, his eyes shining with amusement; if the Varia were there, he could have all sorts of fun if he brought Fran along with him - the Varia hated the kid in the future, and their resentment for him still probably ran strong from the memories they would surely have received. "Looks like I'll have to attend this one. Fran will accompany me."

Ken and Chikusa shared a look, one that silently asked, "What is Mukuro up to, now?"


	3. Chapter 3

Fran was a curious boy by nature, so when he followed Mukuro into the biggest, nicest house he had ever entered in his seven years of life, he was in awe and wanted to venture around. Mukuro let him go, not patient enough to handle a kid like Fran just yet.

The meeting was being held upstairs in the Vongola Decimo's bedroom, as directed by the boy's mother - but to her, this was nothing more than a friendly gathering, bless her oblivious soul.

Mukuro climbed the stairs, not sure where Fran had ran off to, but he figured the kid would find him soon enough. He pushed open the door to the Decimo's bedroom, finding the Vongola and Varia gathered together - to his amusement, each association was gathered on one side of the room. Adding fuel to the fire, the illusionist sat in the middle of the room, showing his unwillingness to associate with the mafia.

"Now where would Kyouya be?" Mukuro smirked, noticing the skylark was absent.

"Did you honestly expect him to show?" Gokudera rolled his eyes. "He won't go anywhere there's a crowd - unless he wants to beat the shit out of someone."

"Kufufu~" Heterochromatic eyes glanced over at the Varia next, eying off their own Mist Guardian. "Viper."

"It's Mammon." The Arcobaleno was sitting on the Storm Guardian's shoulder, Fantasma floating over his head.

"Where's frog boy?" Said Storm Guardian questioned, a shit-eating grin on his face.

"I believe he's downstairs causing mayhem if it's Fran you're talking about." Mukuro's eyes shone with amusement. Just as he said this, the bedroom door opened once again and aforementioned boy wandered in, a stick of dango hanging out of his mouth.

"Hey, frog boy," Bel called out, a frown crossing his face as his obscured eyes fixed on the stick of dango the younger had - as self-centred as ever, he wanted it, despite having been given three earlier by Tsuna's mother. "Give that to the prince."

Fran's teal eyes wandered over to the blond. They lingered there for a few seconds before he pulled the sticky treat from his mouth and replied, not aware of the fact that what he was about to say had also been said in those 'dreams'. "You'll get even more fat if I do, though, stupid, fat, fake-prince."

Bel growled and stood up. "Stupid frog! The prince isn't fat! Give it to him!"

Squalo, who appeared to be in a bad mood already, slapped the Storm Guardian across the back of the head, snarling at him to shut up. Bel's attention turned to him next, leaving Fran to move back to the other illusionist.

"Where did you get that from, little one?" Mukuro asked with a soft voice.

Tiny digits, thick with baby fat, pointed to the bedroom door. "The kitchen lady gave it to me."

"Can I have some, please?" Mukuro's eyes were as soft as his voice, drawing the younger in - Fran may be nothing but a tool, but Mukuro always got what he wanted in the end.

The boy nodded and pulled one of the balls from the stick. He gave it to his mentor without hesitation, not minding sharing his food with the older male.

While the Varia argued and fought amongst themselves, the Vongola Decimo too scared to say anything to them lest they get involved in the very violent argument as well, Mukuro and Fran just sat together, snacking on the dango happily.

"Who are they?" Fran questioned the blue-haired teenager, pointing the now-empty stick at the Varia.

"Those are idiots, kufufu~" Mukuro pointed them out individually, telling the younger their names. "That's Xanxus, their boss. Don't get on his bad side or he'll shoot you. Squalo is their moronic second-in-command and always seems to be on his period. Lussuria is... Well, he's Lussuria. I have no words to describe him. Leviathan is their scapegoat and tends to stalk Xanxus. And Mammon is an Arcobaleno, and an illusionist like us."

"What about him?" Fran's finger pointed at Belphegor, his eyes full of curiosity.

"That's Belphegor." Mukuro smirked. "A real hot-head."

Fran was silent for a few seconds as he studied the blond. He could see the teenager seemed really annoyed with the others, holding the baby tightly in his arms as he yelled. He was curious though; something about the teenager felt familiar, as if he knew him from somewhere - but how could that be possible when he had barely been in this country for more than a few days?

"Master?" Fran looked up at Mukuro. "Master, they all look like a bunch of tooth decay fungi."

"Kufufu~ Is that so?" The teenager grabbed Fran by the forearm and tugged him forward, pushing him towards the Varia group. "Why don't you tell them that yourself?"

Fran shrugged at the illusionist before he approached the brawling males, his eyes emotionless as he surveyed them. He could see that Belphegor and Squalo were hitting each other while Xanxus glared evilly at them from where he sat on the Vongola Decimo's bed. Leviathan was standing next to him, watching the two scrabbling males with distaste while Lussuria continuously tried to pull them apart. Mammon just floated next to them, counting bills.

Fran reached out and, with a tiny hand, tugged on Squalo's long hair. He gasped in surprise as the silver-haired man tackled him to the ground, limp with fear - he didn't want to be involved in the fight; he had just wanted to tell them they were fungi.

"What do you want, you stupid little brat?" Squalo snarled.

Belphegor rammed into the Strategy Captain's side with all his force, knocking the man off Fran. He instead took Squalo's place, resting a knife against the boy's throat.

"Little frogs shouldn't be bothering princes~" Bel grinned in a twisted manner as he pressed the blade down hard enough to draw small streams of blood. "Frogs should go back to their ponds where they belong, shishishi~"

"B-bel, don't!" The brunet Vongola cried out, moving to the Varia Storm's side. He grabbed the back of Bel's black jacket, trying to pull the other away, but the blond wouldn't move.

"Get off him, shithead!" Squalo roared, picking the teenager up and throwing him across the room. "I'm not fucking cleaning that brat off the ground, dumbshit!"

Fran just stayed where he was, blinking up at the scene before him. What had just... happened...? "Did you save me, long-haired fungi?"

"The fuck did you just call me?" Squalo started on Fran next, only stopping when Tsuna moved in front of the boy, holding his arms out as if to shield the younger.

"L-let's not fight...!" Tsuna's heart raced, honestly afraid of the Varia, but knowing he couldn't let a little boy die if he were there to stop it.

Squalo stopped, only after hearing the familiar clicking of Xanxus getting ready to pull the trigger on his guns. He growled to himself as he moved back to his boss' side, wishing he could kill that kid - he remembered everything from the future, and Fran was no exception.

Mukuro just watched in amusement, his eyes glinting with excitement. He watched as Fran stumbled back to him with a dazed expression, failing to hold back his laughter; looks like everything had been worth it after all.

"The frog better watch out," Belphegor called from where he had been thrown, sitting on the ground as he felt a hand to his stomach where he had fallen on the blade of his knife. To the Varia's surprise, the Storm Guardian hadn't lost all control and flipped out - which was probably lucky, considering they weren't home in their mansion where they could cause as much damage as they needed in order to restrain their psychopathic blond. "The prince doesn't like you!"

Fran just blinked at the blond, flinching slightly when he felt Mukuro press cloth against the wound on his neck. "Why? I don't know you."

"Don't play dumb with me, you peasant!" Bel called, his mouth set in a frown. "The prince hates you for confusing him!"

"What?" Fran turned to look back at the blue-haired male with confused eyes. "I don't understand, Master."

"Belphegor, he doesn't understand," Mukuro called back. "He doesn't have the memories."

"Hmph!" Bel stood up, moving back to his own group. "Yeah, well - keep him away from the prince! The prince likes _girls! _He doesn't want some stupid frog trying to make him gay!"

"Shut it, faggot!" Squalo slapped Bel again when the younger was within reaching distance, only causing another argument.

"Fuck you!" Belphegor shouted back.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Squalo sneered.

Tsuna just looked at his guardians, sighing; it was going to be a long meeting.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Master?"

Mukuro looked down at his apprentice as they walked through the abandoned building the older male called home. "What is it?"

Fran frowned before he spoke up, voicing the thoughts he just couldn't shake. "Did you... have weird dreams, too?"

"Hmm? I have weird dreams all the time, little one." Mukuro chuckled. "Be more descriptive."

"...Did they... make you think you could be dreaming about the future...?" Fran was almost sure Mukuro was going to laugh and call him stupid - but to his surprise, the teenager nodded.

"The truth is, they weren't dreams." Mukuro knelt down so that he was eye-level with the younger. He patted the apple illusion gently as he explained. "They were really memories your future self sent back to you."

"What?" Fran frowned. "But... That doesn't make any sense, Master. I thought you were smart."

"Well, you asked. What made you ask me? I thought you didn't have those memories." Mukuro stood back up and started walking, listening to the soft pattering as Fran followed after him.

"It's... It's the people from before... They were just like the people from my dreams, Master. Even... Even your eyes are the same..."

"As I said, they're memories." Mukuro stopped walking again, turning around to look down at the boy. "They're memories of a future that would have been if it wasn't changed."

"But... There was so much _weird, _Master!" Fran waved his arms around in the air as if to emphasise this point. "There... There was flying elephants, and... And a man with wings! _Wings, _Master! Like an angel!"

"Kufufu~" The teenager's eyes glinted with amusement. "I know. I was there, little one."

The boy's nose crinkled at these words. "Okay, then. If you're trying to convince me they're memories, then _you _tell me what happened."

Mukuro smirked as he recounted his own memories of the future, cementing Fran's own perspective of what had happened. However, despite how accurate the blue-haired male was in his retelling, there was just one thing he had left out - but to his own defence, he had never been aware of this particular part of the future until Fran mentioned it to him.

"You forgot something, Master." The fragile boy looked so serious, Mukuro stopped smirking.

"What would that be?" A malicious glint shone in heterochromatic eyes, the teenger's dislike for losing making itself known.

"What Bel-senpai and I did together."

"How would I know what you two did together?" There was an annoyed undertone in Mukuro's voice at this question.

"Because I don't understand it myself." The younger's frown grew. "It's too confusing."

"And why's that?" Mukuro was tempted to up and leave, but something about the way Fran grew tense and gave out an uncertain, hesitant aura made him stay - knowing Bel, the two could have been doing _anything _in the future, and it may not have been consensual on Fran's part.

"Because Grandma always warned me about taking my clothes off for other people, but I remember doing that with Bel-senpai." Fran looked so innocent, Mukuro felt as if he were a father hearing that his daughter had been sexually abused.

"..." The teenager really didn't know what to say to the boy - what _could _he say? "...I..."

"I let him bad-touch me..." The boy tilted his head, as if trying to understand this.

"It's not a bad-touch if you consented to it, little one." Mukuro patted the apple illusion once more, his voice soft. "Did you like it? Did you say yes to it?"

Fran nodded. "I think I did. But I remember it hurting."

_Oh, God, they've done _it.. "That's normal." _Really? I'm useless at this. _

"What was it we were doing?" Curiosity had made its way into Fran's voice, replacing the previous emotions.

"...Sex..." Mukuro mumbled. "That's what it was..."

"Sex? Can we have sex, Master?" Fran's teal eyes blinked innocently up at his teacher, not understanding the severity of what he had just asked.

"No!" Mukuro couldn't help but snap, horrified to be asked for such a thing. He knew Fran was only young and didn't understand, but damnit did that question made him feel dirty. "Don't ever ask me for that again!"

Fran could only blink as he watched Mukuro storm down the hallway. "Was it something I said?"

With the shrug, the boy continued on to his room, deciding it wasn't important.

~~Varia~~

"Hey, fag."

"What is it, Squalo, dear?" Lussuria perked up as Squalo walked into the living room, only to be let down as the younger man snapped at him.

"Not you, fag!" The silver-haired male shouted. "I'm talking to the _other _fag!"

"Calling out 'fag' to address just one of us is about as helpful as Boss screaming 'trash' and then telling just one of us to do something," Leviathan pointed out.

"Stay the fuck out of it!" Squalo roared before turning back to look at the couch Lussuria and Bel were seated on. "Fag!"

"Yes?" Lussuria - purely out of being so accustomed to this manner of address by Squalo - asked again.

"The blond faggot!" The other three occupants of the room were almost certain they could see the veins on Squalo's forehead about to pop.

"The prince is _not _a faggot." Bel glared at his superior, placing the PSP he was holding down on his lap. "Don't talk to a prince like that, you stupid shark."

"You little bastard!" Squalo came closer, but Bel wasn't scared of him; he merely picked up his console and started pressing buttons again. "I should snap your scrawny little neck!"

Bel just shrugged, blocking Squalo's ranting out like he was used to.

"Voi!" Squalo turned to Lussuria next, his eyes narrowed as his face grew redder than before. "Tell the prince trash he's got a mission with the Vongola brats next week!" Throwing a folder at the Sun Guardian, he snarled, "Details!"

"Oh, okay, dear." Lussuria opened the folder, knowing Bel wouldn't care if the other saw the details of his mission. He looked at the section titled 'partners', and was surprised to see that he had been paired up with Mukuro.

It was unusual for a member of the Varia to be partnered on missions without another Varia member, but it happened - usually for missions that were supposed to be easy but still had the possibility of turning dangerous fast; the Varia member was usually only there as an added precaution to the others assigned the mission.

Lussuria couldn't be certain because Belphegor was an unpredictable little brat at times, but he was almost sure the blond wouldn't like this at all.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N I don't really like this chapter, to be honest. I think it's really poor and... well, just not good, but it's necessary. **

"Why did the prince get partnered up with _you?" _Bel scowled as he trudged along through the thick forest of Japan with Mukuro by his side. "The prince hates you."

"I'm not too fond of you myself, Belphewhore." The blue-haired male sneered. "The only reason I'm doing this is because I demand to know what you were doing with my little one in the future."

"The prince is _not _a whore!" Bel argued. He pulled three of his knives from his pocket, holding them threateningly before him. "That stupid little brat is the whore!"

Mukuro narrowed his eyes seconds before he cast an illusion, trapping the older teenager in darkness so thick, there was nothing around the blond. He spoke, knowing the Varia Storm would hear him.

"The boy is _seven, _you cruel piece of work," Mukuro found himself hissing. "He doesn't even know what sex _is. _Don't you _ever _call him a whore again."

"Yeah, well, the prince isn't gay, either," Bel growled. "The stupid frog seduced him!"

"But if you weren't gay, you wouldn't have given into his advances if that's even the truth," the younger male pointed out. "How do you know you're not gay?"

"Because the prince has lots of sex with girls." The smaller male nodded to himself. "See? Lots of _girls. _They always get him off - never guys. That's how I know."

In a teasing tone, the blue-haired teenager replied, "Belphewhore just hasn't found the right _guy _yet. Give it ten years time and then we'll see."

"Asshole."

Bel frowned, quickening his pace. "I hate you. I wish they'd never gotten you out of Vendice. I wish you and the frog were dead."

Mukuro just laughed as he watched Bel storm through the forest, heading towards the rest house they were trying to find. He knew Bel didn't like him - it was a mutual thing between them, after all - Mukuro just wasn't enough of a jerk to act on his feelings.

~~Belphegor~~

Bel's frown deepened with each passing minute as he stumbled through the now-dark forest. He must have been out here for hours trying to find his way as he should have made it to the rest house long before nightfall. Right now, that was the least of his problems.

_Stupid Mist Guardian trying to confuse me... _Bel grabbed a knife and threw it at the tree in front of him, growling as he did so. _The prince isn't gay, and he doesn't want some stupid pineapple trying to make him believe he is. Stupid pineapples and stupid frogs! _

It had been a while since Bel had felt this upset - having lived with the Varia since he was just eight-years-old had pushed him into a lot of different experiences, but living in a conflicting situation involving an openly gay peacock and an equally homophobic shark had messed with his views on alternative lifestyles.

Before he came to the Varia, he didn't even _know _that men could like other men in that way. When he first met Lussuria, he had barely batted an eyelid upon hearing about his orientation, not bothered in the least by it. But when Squalo's homophobic side would make an appearance, Bel started to believe that Lussuria's lifestyle was wrong and unacceptable, developing his own homophobic attitude similar to the one he had been raised with.

"The prince isn't a fag, and he never will be..." Bel muttered as he sat down, resting his back against the trunk of a large tree. He was tired and, as royalty, used to getting five-star accommodation wherever he went. "Squ-Squ would hate the prince if he were a fag anyway..."

The blond couldn't quite put a finger on why it bothered him so much when others pointed out he had been in a relationship with another male in the future - it wasn't just the fact that he was against that kind of thing; he knew there was something more to it. Was it the fact that he would probably be rejected by his fellow

Varia members the same way Lussuria was? That the others may never look at him, treat him the same way again?

"I hate being confused..." Bel let himself drop to the ground, curling into a ball. It was true - he _resented _being confused; he liked having everything laid out before him, his genius mind piecing together the puzzle. But this... This was just...

"So this is where you've been hiding."

Bel glanced up as he heard Mukuro's voice. He just shrugged at the younger male as the Vongola Mist leant next to him, too tired and hungry to argue.

"I've been waiting for you at the rest house for eight hours now." Mukuro reached out, grabbing Bel by the shoulders. "I almost started believing a wolf had eaten you before I remembered you're too scrawny to hardly be a snack."

"Fuck you..." Bel muttered, not resisting as he was pulled into Mukuro's arms.

"Kufufu~ Told you you like boys." The younger male chuckled to himself as he carried the blond through the forest - he knew he should feel guilty it was his fault the stuck-up prince had ran off in the first place, but he didn't care; he _couldn't_. He hated the Mafia and really wanted nothing to do with them - he was just stuck in an unfortunate situation in which he owed the VongolaDecimo for his freedom.

"Why are you so desperate to deny liking males?" Mukuro questioned, genuinely interested in Bel's reasoning - if the older teenager had been in a relationship with Fran - albeit a different timeline - then surely that proved it?

"Because Squ-Squ and the prince don't like it." Bel shuddered inexplicably.

"Hmm? Is it because you're against it, or are you just worried about what your comrade will think?" A knowing smirk crossed Mukuro's face.

"..." For once, Bel didn't have a reply. Was what the blue-haired male said true? Was he just... conscious of the fact that most of the Varia were homophobes?

_That can't be right... _Bel shook his head to clear his thoughts. _I don't care about them - much less about what they think of me. ...So why does my chest hurt when I think they might push me away...? _

_Fucking stupid pineapples... I'm going to stab the shit out of one when I get back to Italy..._


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N I'm bringing this ****fic****into the ****Arcobaleno****Trials arc now, so there may be spoilers ahead if you haven't gotten this far into the ****manga****. The up-coming chapters also may not keep true to the ****manga****chapters as there will be some things I'll have to change for this plot's sake, but it should still run linear with canon. **

**Also, M.M doesn't exist in my mind. I'm sorry, but I just can't stand her, so she won't have any part to play in this ****fic****, either.**

When Bel returned to the Varia after completing his mission, he had headed straight upstairs and into his bedroom. He tread through the mess on his floor in order to throw himself down on his king-size bed and curl up in the blood-red silk comforter, trying to stop the confusing jumble of thoughts from bringing him down.

The truth was, he remembered exactly what had happened between he and Fran in the future, but he didn't want to face the fact that he was bisexual - he had only ever had an interest in girls before, and being pummelled with memories of the future in which he had been in a relationship with another male was like having a stranger come up to you on the street and tell you your family had died - you didn't expect it, and the weight of the burden hit you like a steam roller, crushing you.

Bel wasn't sure if he was comfortable or not being bisexual - his future self apparently was, but he was only sixteen and trying to deal with his already-overwhelming hormones made it so much harder.

_How does __Luss__deal with this?_ Bel sighed as he rolled onto his back, looking up at the roof. _He gets so much shit from the others but he never lets it bother him. Even the pineapple... The pineapple thought it was stupid to care about what people think... In fact, the pineapple was more help than __Xanxus__or __Squalo__- all they did was tease the prince..._

Bel sat up and slipped his legs off the bed. He stood, moving to the doorway he had just come through not even five minutes before. His mind didn't know where he was going, but his feet did - they took him all the way to Mammon's room.

"Mammy?" Bel knocked on the door, entering when he heard the Arcobaleno telling him to enter. He pushed against the door, finding Mammon sitting on the rug, counting money. "Mammy, the prince has a question."

"Fifteen euros." The baby held his hand out expectantly, but when no money was handed to him, he frowned. "Pay up, or leave."

"Well, the prince only has credit cards - Mammy knows this." Bel sat next to the baby, looking at the stacks of money placed in various amounts. "The prince will get money for Mammy later."

As much as Mammon wanted to disagree, he nodded. "Have it to me before seven tonight."

"Okay." Bel took a deep breath before he spoke, voicing the questions that had been bothering him lately. "...Does Mammy think it's stupid to care about what people think about the prince?"

"Of course." The Arcobaleno placed a few more notes down in one of the piles. "Is this about you being gay?"

The blond huffed. "The prince is _not _gay! ...He... He's bi..." Bel looked away, frowning.

"You finally admit it."

"No, I'm not!" The teenager argued. "I'm just stating I'm not _gay!_"

"And now you're getting defensive." Mamamon shrugged his tiny shoulders, turning to look up at Bel. "What does it matter what your orientation is? It doesn't change who you are as a person, so stop being so stupid and accept it."

"The others won't accept it!" Behind blond bangs, Bel's eyes widened as he thought about how the other Varia members would treat him if he were to finally accept things as they were - he'd be treated as badly as Lussuria, or maybe even worse. "They'll..."

"What's the worst they'd do? Kick you out? They're not your parents, and Lussuria has been here for years. If they've put up with your bratty attitude, childish pranks and the fact that you're either always horny or wanting to kill someone, they're not going to treat you differently _now_, Bel."

Bel glanced at his lap, fumbling with his hands. He bit his lip, thinking over Mammon's words. He knew the baby was right, and... Well, to be honest, Lussuria had been in the Varia long before _he _had joined - maybe the other members didn't treat Lussuria differently due to his orientation; perhaps they'd _always _been that way towards him, accepting the fact that he was gay and using it in jest.

And now, as the blond thought about it, his interactions with the others really hadn't changed, apart from Squalo referring to him as a faggot. But, despite Squalo's homophobic attitude, he had never pushed either Lussuria or Bel away from him - could it all just be his odd way of showing his affection for them?

"That comes to two-hundred-and-fifteen euros. My help doesn't come cheap."

Bel's mouth just dropped open at the baby's attitude - he had been on the verge of an epiphany, and the Mist Guardian had _ruined _it.

**Kokuyo****Land~~**

Fran had been sleeping soundly by the time Mukuro came back. Ken and Chikusa weren't anywhere to be found, and Chrome was in Namimori Town, probably with the Vongola Decimo.

It was dark within the abandoned school, the moon's rays doing little to guide Mukuro through the hallways he had come to know well, but that didn't matter; he had already reached his destination.

The office Mukuro had claimed as his own was still the same as it was when he had left the mission; there was dust everywhere, tiny pieces of broken plaster and shattered floorboards here and there. The filthy window blocked out most of the moon's light, but Mukuro didn't care; he was at peace here.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

Mukuro knew he had felt another presence in the room with him, but he had ignored it, curious as to what someone was doing here. He glanced towards the dark corner of the room, seeing a tiny figure step further towards the desk the blue-haired teenager had moved to.

Heterochromatic eyes made out green hair and a white lab-coat, but the green pacifier Mukuro could just make out gave everything away.

"Kufufu~" Mukuro laughed as he kicked his feet up onto the desk, smirking. "What would an Arcobaleno want with me?"

"I want you to be my representative."

Mukuro just laughed again, amusement running high.


End file.
